Guilt by Association

I’ve been closely following the ongoing wave of unrest against the now infamous American-made film insulting Islam, the Innocence of Muslims. The sheer lack of talent, any artistic value, and hilariously shitty production suggests to me that the video was conceived solely to incite anger among Muslims around the world. We know that freedom of speech protects any American’s rights to release such a film. A few have suggested that this instance approaches dangerously close to the proverbial “yelling fire in a crowded theater” analogy, but that’s for another, longer, story later.

This resulting violence has been, firstly, unacceptable and unnecessary, but to be honest, neither surprising or groundbreaking. General anti-American sentiment has been a presence in Muslim-majority countries for years, with a long list of wars and imperialism-inflicted wounds to back it up.

Though if you can deign to tear your eyes away from mainstream American media for a minute, we know that not all Egyptians and Libyans are Salafis calling for bloody retribution, just as all Americans are not conspirators hell-bent on belittling the beliefs of one billion people. Honestly, they have more important things to fight for. But it seems that neither Americans nor swathes of the worldwide Muslim community understand this rather basic nuance with respect to each other.

To President Obama, the actions of a few Egyptians and the Egyptian government’s diplomatic silence about the delicate and unclear matter–what any government would do when faced with siding with its people or a foreign backer–was enough to deem that it was no longer officially an ally. This is a clear break from the cozy relationship enjoyed by the United States and deposed dictator Hosni Mubarak.

I think the oft-raised fears of an “Islamist takeover,” and general perceptions of a homogeneously fanatical Muslim population have dug their dangerous roots deep in Washington. Hm, so, Egyptian President Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood Party are complicit in the embassy attack? Never mind that this Egyptian government is ultimately practical like any before or after it; apparently, calling in the Central Security forces to tear gas and beat the protestors was not enough to satisfy the conditions of alliance. Will live bullets do? Perhaps the arbitrary arrest of 50 in dubious connection with the incident? Well, Mubarak could have gladly given you that, Mr. President, but you supported his downfall.

Now, the insulted and angry part of the Egyptian population doesn’t have it right either. Americans enjoy the full blessings of freedom of speech and the right to offend whoever pisses you off. I love that too. Egyptians and other Middle Easterners do not have the historical conception of this kind of individual freedom; government censorship, tight publication restrictions on anything deemed “dangerous” are the norm. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that non-American people would assume the American government is at least complicit in the release of  The Innocence of Muslims, if not secretly supportive. Plus, this simple understanding fits nicely into the common perception of the United States’ waging a war on Islam.

The unfortunate part is that this association of the American-made film with the government is not restricted to commoners. President Mursi, among other elite party officials, have called for the American government to take all necessary steps to ensure that such an incident does not occur again, and that deeply held religious mores are never offended. Well, President Mursi, as long as some crackpot American hate-mongerer can get his xenophobic hands on a video camera, no promises here either.

Two cheers for freedom.